Skarlorns-leveling-sol-a-leveling-guide

Skarlorn's Guide to Leveling in Solusek's Eye

Solusek’s Eye is an ideal dungeon for people leveling 20-35. The goblin horde inside teems with Fine Steel and valuable bricks of ore. It has a remarkable experience modifier. As with any rewarding zone, it is perilous. This is underlined by the entrance to the dungeon itself: a narrow, curving staircase that catwalks over a pool of lava. If you fall in the lava, you will die. Welcome to SolA.

Overview:

This guide will give you an in-depth understanding of what you can expect when you venture into the dungeon called Solusek’s Eye (searched for by the command /who all soldunga). I will talk about the various monsters and their factions. I will touch lightly on the traps you may encounter. You will receive valuable advice on where to go & when. My goal is to distill a highly complex and confounding zone into a place where you can reasonably expect to lead a group in at the appropriate level, and if you fight well, lead them out. However, I will not reveal certain secrets about this mysterious and deadly dungeon, as some surprises are best left for the unwary.

Monsters – The labyrinth of Solusek’s Eye is filled with many foes. An overwhelming cabal of fire goblins rules most of the zone. Among them you may find burning efreeti who wear curved silk shoes, fire drakes and even a lone kobold. The gnomes control the other portion of the dungeon. In their overwhelming greed, they have carved out a fine fortress for themselves deep below the fiery mountains. In this Monster Overview, I will give you a brief idea of what you can expect each faction to present in terms of monsters and overall presence. For more specific leveling advice, check out Where to go & When.

Goblins – By far the major faction of Sol A, fire goblins represent the lowest and some of the highest level monsters in the dungeon. Ruled by the Goblin King and his advisor Lord Gimblox, goblins are concentrated most heavily at the goblin castle, as well as the north end of the zone which is commonly referred to as ‘captain’. In between the king and his captain are a long series of hallways filled with goblin wizards, shamans, warriors, rogues, and miners. These goblins go from level 20 to level 30+.

Gnomes – Gnomes are all around tough cookies. While fewer in number than goblins, they pack a harder punch. For instance, the Clockwork Gnomes are practically immune to magic. Many gnomes are mages. Inside the castle are treasures to buy and treasures to take from the mauled corpses of your gnomish victims. The choice is yours.

Efreeti – A small tribe of fire efreeti live beneath a trap floor in the northern tunnels of Sol A. These are probably not worth the effort to hunt. They cast flame DDs and have nasty damage shields. The loot they drop is not useful outside of classic era.

Miscellaneous – Kobolds, Dark Elves, Fire Drakes, Lava Elementals... Sol A has many surprises. Go find out for yourself.

Traps –

There are many traps within Solusek’s eye. What the fire god did not carve with his claws of lava, the goblins have shaped into a treacherous fortress. You will face with swinging axes, fake floors that fall into dangerous rooms, false walls which can be as useful as they are dangerous, and other strange and unknown perils… You have been warned.

Lava –

Avoid it. If you fall into the lava pits at the zone in, you have a couple of options to try and survive. The most important thing is to get a levitate to buy yourself more time. If you are a gating class, gate. If you have a Leatherfoot Raider’s Skullcap, you may want to use the WC gate now. Your other option is to lev up and run into SolB zoneline and then try to escape through there. However, this will put you past higher level monsters, many of whom see invisible. Recovering your corpse from there will be hard. The most common and classic solution is to let yourself be burned alive in the lava pits, and then drag your body back out with the /corpse command.

Welcome to Sol A.

Note: if you must cross lava for some stupid reason, make sure to maximize your Fire Resistance.

Difficulty Navigating –

It is best to play with the project 1999 wiki map pulled up at all times. When you zone in, you will be facing south. A curving stone staircase bridges over a deadly pit of lava. If you are small enough, you can jump through the hole in the wall to the east. Otherwise, you will follow the stone staircase. One you pass through the small window room, you will be face-to-face with the Goblin Castle, a fortress teeming with your enemies. This is your essential point of orientation.

Use this ridge as your landmark. To the south is an army of fire goblins and the King himself. The tunnels to the east (your respective right) lead to Sol B. If you are in danger, you may flee that way. To the north, over the bridge, you will find the goblin miners who are supervised by the Goblin Captain and Foreman. To the east and north await the powerful gnomes in their citadel and beyond that the lava elementals.

Now, you must ask…